PRESS RELEASE from the ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE MEDIA CONTACT: Diana Rickert Diana@IllinoisPolicy.org or (312) 607-4977 Vernon Hills only bright spot in suburban government transparency audit 19 out of 22 local governments in Lake County receive failing grades CHICAGO (Dec. 19, 2012) – Lake County residents pay some of the highest property tax rates in the...
In the mid-1990s, Illinois lawmakers were facing a serious problem: the unfunded liability of the state
Are you worried about your own retirement? With the downturn in the economy, did your 401k and savings take a big hit? If so, you're like millions of other Americans forced to confront a dramatically different outlook for their post-work years. But one gr
State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, state Rep. Daniel Biss and several of their rank-and-file colleagues recently unveiled a new pension reform proposal. These lawmakers should be commended for stepping forward with a plan, rather than waiting on their political leaders to get around to fixing the problem. Unfortunately, the Nekritz-Biss plan falls short of fixing the...
It is a basic axiom of government collective bargaining: If you have to bargain with a union about anything, you are liable to have to bargain with them about everything, and that includes things that you aren’t supposed to bargain about at all. This why collective bargaining with government employees is such a problem: Even...
State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, state Rep. Daniel Biss and several of their rank-and-file colleagues recently unveiled a new pension reform proposal.
It is a basic axiom of government collective bargaining: If you have to bargain with a union about anything, you are liable to have to bargain with them about everything, and that includes things that you aren
The Illinois Policy Institute's Director of Government Reform, Brian Costin, submitted the following letter to the Illinois Times. An edited version appeared in the latest print edition
In the last two years, our Midwest neighbors in Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan have curtailed the power of labor unions.
Yes, Quinn
As the pension crisis threatens to engulf Illinois, legislators continue to fiddle. It’s no secret that Illinois has the worst-funded state pension systems in the nation. That’s an accepted fact by those on both sides of the aisle. Unfortunately, that fact hasn’t motivated any action from the state’s politicians. Now recent news point to even...
Many who lost middle-class jobs during the recession are taking low-paying positions. Employees and activist groups are pushing for a living wage.
As the pension debacle threatens to engulf Illinois, legislators continue to fiddle.